Appendix B: Data Source Descriptions

Air Quality System

The Air Quality System (AQS) contains ambient
air pollution data collected by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and state, local, and tribal air pollution control agencies. Data on criteria pollutants consist of air quality measurements collected by sensitive equipment at thousands of monitoring stations located across all 50 states, plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Each monitor measures the concentration of a particular pollutant in the air. Monitoring data indicate the average pollutant concentration during a specified time interval, usually 1 hour or 24 hours. AQS also contains meteorological data, descriptive information about each monitoring station (including its geographic location and its operator), and data quality assurance or quality control information. The system is administered by EPA, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards, Information Transfer and Program Integration Division, located in Research Triangle Park, N.C.

American Housing Survey

The American Housing Survey (AHS) was mandated by Congress in 1968 to provide data for evaluating progress toward “a decent home and a suitable living environment for every American family.” It is the primary source of detailed information on housing in the United States and is used to generate a biennial report to Congress on the conditions of housing in the United States, among other reports. The survey is conducted for the Department of Housing and Urban Development by the U.S. Census Bureau. The AHS encompasses a national survey and 21 metropolitan surveys and is designed to collect data from the same housing units for each survey. The national survey, a representative sample of approximately 60,000 housing units, is conducted biennially in odd-numbered years; the metropolitan surveys, representative samples of 3,500 housing units, are conducted in odd-numbered years on a 6-year cycle. The AHS collects data about the inventory and condition of housing in the United States and the demographics of its inhabitants. The survey provides detailed data on the types of housing in the United States and its characteristics and conditions; financial data on housing costs, utilities, mortgages, equity loans, and market value; demographic data on family composition, income, education, and race; and information on neighborhood quality and recent movers.

Race and Hispanic origin: Data from this survey are not shown by race and Hispanic
origin in this report.

American Time Use Survey

The American Time Use Survey (ATUS) is a nationally representative sample survey conducted for the Bureau of Labor Statistics by the U.S. Census Bureau. The ATUS measures how people living in the United States spend their time. Estimates show the kinds of activities people do and the time they spent doing them by sex, age, educational attainment, labor force status, and other characteristics, as well as by weekday and weekend day.

ATUS respondents are interviewed one time about how they spent their time on the previous day,
where they were, and whom they were with. The survey is a continuous survey, with interviews conducted nearly every day of the year and a sample that builds over time. About 13,000 members of the civilian noninstitutionalized population age 15 and over are interviewed each year.

Race and Hispanic origin: Data from this survey are not shown by race and Hispanic
origin in this report.

Consumer Expenditure Survey

The Consumer Expenditure Survey (CE) is conducted for the Bureau of Labor Statistics by the U.S. Census Bureau. The survey contains both a diary component and an interview component. Data are integrated before publication. The data presented in this chartbook are derived from the integrated data available on the CE website. The published data are weighted to reflect the U.S. population.

In the interview portion of the CE, respondents are interviewed once every 3 months for 5 consecutive quarters. Respondents report information on consumer unit characteristics and expenditures during each interview. Income data are collected during the second and ﬁfth interviews only.

Race and Hispanic origin: Data from this survey are not shown by race and Hispanic
origin in this report.

Current Population Survey

The Current Population Survey (CPS) is a nationally representative sample survey of about 60,000 households conducted monthly for the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) by the U.S. Census Bureau. The CPS core survey is the primary source of information on the labor force characteristics of the civilian noninstitutionalized population age 16 and over, including a comprehensive body of monthly data on the labor force, employment, unemployment, persons not in the labor force, hours of work, earnings, and other demographic and labor force characteristics.

In most months, CPS supplements provide additional demographic and social data. The Annual Social and Economic Supplement (ASEC) is the primary source of detailed information on income and poverty in the United States. The ASEC is used to generate the annual Population Proﬁle of the United States, reports on geographical mobility and educational attainment, and is the primary source of detailed information on income and poverty in the United States. The ASEC, historically referred to as the March supplement, now is conducted in February, March, and April with a sample of about 100,000 addresses. The questionnaire asks about income from more than 50 sources and records up to 27 different income amounts, including receipt of many noncash benefits, such as food stamps and housing assistance.

Race and Hispanic origin: In 2003, for the ﬁrst time CPS respondents were asked to identify themselves as belonging to one or more of the six racial groups (white, black, American Indian and Alaska Native, Asian, Native Hawaiian and other Paciﬁc Islander, and Some Other Race); previously they were to choose only one. People who responded to the question on race by indicating only one race are referred to as the race alone or single-race population and individuals who chose more than one of the race categories are referred to as the Two-or-More-Races population.

The CPS includes a separate question on Hispanic origin. Starting in 2003, people of Spanish/ Hispanic/Latino origin could identify themselves as Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, or Other Spanish/Hispanic/Latino. People of Hispanic origin may be of any race.

The 1994 redesign of the CPS had an impact on labor force participation rates for older men and women. (See “Indicator 11: Participation in the Labor Force.”) For more information on the effect of the redesign, see “The CPS After the Redesign: Refocusing the Economic Lens.”52

For more information regarding the CPS, its sampling structure, and estimation methodology, see “Explanatory Notes and Estimates of Error.”53

Decennial Census

Every 10 years, beginning with the ﬁrst census in 1790, the United States government conducts a census, or count, of the entire population as mandated by the U.S. Constitution. The 1990 and 2000 censuses were taken April 1 of their respective years. As in several previous censuses, two forms were used: a short form and a long form. The short form was sent to every household, and the long form, containing the 100 percent questions plus the sample questions, was sent to approximately one in every six households.

The Census 2000 short-form questionnaire included six questions for each member of the household (name, sex, age, relationship, Hispanic origin, and race) and whether the housing unit was owned or rented. The long form asked more detailed information on subjects such as education, employment, income, ancestry, homeowner costs, units in a structure, number of rooms, plumbing facilities, etc.

Race and Hispanic origin: In Census 2000, respondents were given the option of selecting one or more race categories to indicate their racial identities. People who responded to the question on race indicating only one of the six race categories (white, black, American Indian and Alaska Native, Asian, Native Hawaiian and other Paciﬁc Islander, and Some Other Race) are referred to as the race alone or single-race population. Individuals who chose more than one of the race categories are referred to as the Two-or-More-Races population. The six single-race categories, which made up nearly 98 percent of all respondents, and the Two-or-More-Races category sum to the total population. Because respondents were given the option of selecting one or more race categories to indicate their racial identities, Census 2000 data on race are not directly comparable with data from the 1990 or earlier censuses.

As in earlier censuses, Census 2000 included a separate question on Hispanic origin. In Census 2000, people of Spanish/Hispanic/Latino origin could identify themselves as Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, or Other Spanish/Hispanic/Latino. People of Hispanic origin may be of any race.

Health and Retirement Study

The Health and Retirement Study (HRS) is a national panel study conducted by the University of Michigan’s Institute for Social Research under a cooperative agreement with the National Institute on Aging. In 1992, the study had an initial sample of over 12,600 people from the 1931–1941 birth cohort and their spouses. The HRS was joined in 1993 by a companion study, Asset and Health Dynamics Among the Oldest Old (AHEAD), with a sample of 8,222 respondents (born before 1924 who were age 70 and over) and their spouses. In 1998, these two data collection efforts were combined into a single survey instrument and field period and were expanded through the addition of baseline interviews with two new birth cohorts: Children of the Depression Age (1924–1930) and War Babies (1942–1947). Plans call for adding a new 6-year cohort of Americans entering their 50s every 6 years. In 2004, baseline interviews were conducted with the Early Boomer birth cohort (1948–1953). Telephone follow-ups are conducted every second year, with proxy interviews after death. Beginning in 2006, one-half of this sample has an enhanced face-to-face interview that includes the collection of physical measures and biomarker collection. The Aging, Demographics, and Memory Study (ADAMS) is a supplement to HRS with the specific aim of conducting a population-based study of dementia.

The combined studies, which are collectively called HRS, have become a steady state sample that is representative of the entire U.S. population age 50 and over (excluding people who resided in a nursing home or other institutionalized setting at the time of sampling). HRS will follow respondents longitudinally until they die (including following people who move into a nursing home or other institutionalized setting).

The HRS is intended to provide data for researchers, policy analysts, and program planners who make major policy decisions that affect retirement, health insurance, saving, and economic well-being. The study is designed to explain the antecedents and consequences of retirement; examine the relationship between health, income, and wealth over time; examine life cycle patterns of wealth accumulation and consumption; monitor work disability; provide a rich source of interdisciplinary data, including linkages with administrative data; monitor transitions in physical, functional, and cognitive health in advanced old age; relate late-life changes in physical and cognitive health to patterns of spending down assets and income ﬂows; relate changes in health to economic resources and intergenerational transfers; and examine how the mix and distribution of economic, family, and program resources affect key outcomes, including retirement, spending down assets, health declines, and institutionalization.

Race and Hispanic origin: Data from this survey are not shown by race and Hispanic
origin in this report.

Medical Expenditure Panel Survey

The Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) is an ongoing annual survey of the civilian noninstitutionalized population that collects detailed information on health care use and expenditures (including sources of payment), health insurance, income, health status, access, and quality of care. MEPS, which began in 1996, is the third in a series of national probability surveys conducted by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality on the ﬁnancing and use of medical care in the United States. MEPS predecessor surveys are the National Medical Care Expenditure Survey (NMCES) conducted in 1977 and the National Medical Expenditure Survey (NMES) conducted in 1987. Each of the three surveys (i.e., NMCES, NMES, and MEPS) used multiple rounds of in-person data collection to elicit expenditures and sources of payments for each health care event experienced by household members during the calendar year. The current MEPS Household Component (HC) sample is drawn from respondents to the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS). To yield more complete information on health care spending and payment sources, followback surveys of health providers were conducted for a subsample of events in MEPS (and events in the MEPS predecessor surveys).

Since 1977, the structure of billing mechanism for medical services has grown more complex as a result of increasing penetration of managed care and health maintenance organizations and various cost-containment reimbursement mechanisms instituted by Medicare, Medicaid, and private insurers. As a result, there has been substantial discussion about what constitutes an appropriate measure of health care expenditures.54 Health care expenditures presented in this report refer to what is actually paid for health care services. More speciﬁcally, expenditures are deﬁned as the sum of direct payments for care received, including out-of-pocket payments for care received. This deﬁnition of expenditures differs somewhat from what was used in the 1987 NMES, which used charges (rather than payments) as the fundamental expenditure construct. To improve comparability of estimates between the 1987 NMES and the 1996 and 2001 MEPS, the 1987 data presented in this report were adjusted using the method described by Zuvekas and Cohen.51 Adjustments to the 1977 data were considered unnecessary because virtually all of the discounting for health care services occurred after 1977 (essentially equating charges with payments in 1977).

A number of quality-related enhancements were made to the MEPS beginning in 2000, including the fielding of an annual adult self-administered questionnaire (SAQ). This questionnaire contains items on patient satisfaction and accountability measures from the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS®; previously known as the Consumer Assessment of Health Plans), the SF-12 physical and mental health assessment tool, EQ-5D EuroQol 5 dimensions with visual scale (2000–2003), and several attitude items. Starting in 2004, the K-6 Kessler mental health distress scale and the PH2 two-item depression scale were added to the SAQ.

Race and Hispanic origin: Data from this survey are not shown by race and Hispanic
origin in this report.

Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey

The Medicare Current Beneﬁciary Survey (MCBS) is a continuous, multipurpose survey of a representative sample of the Medicare population designed to help the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) administer, monitor, and evaluate the Medicare program. The MCBS collects information on health care use, cost, and sources of payment; health insurance coverage; household composition; sociodemographic characteristics; health status and physical functioning; income and assets; access to care; satisfaction with care; usual source of care; and how beneﬁciaries get information about Medicare.

MCBS data enable CMS to determine sources of payment for all medical services used by Medicare beneﬁciaries, including copayments, deductibles, and noncovered services; develop reliable and current information on the use and cost of services not covered by Medicare (such as long-term care); ascertain all types of health insurance coverage and relate coverage to sources of payment; and monitor the ﬁnancial effects of changes in the Medicare program. Additionally, the MCBS is the only source of multidimensional person-based information about the characteristics of the Medicare population and their access to and satisfaction with Medicare services and information about the Medicare program. The MCBS sample consists of Medicare enrollees in the community and in institutions.

The survey is conducted in three rounds per year, with each round being 4 months in length. MCBS has a multistage, stratiﬁed, random sample design and a rotating panel survey design. Each panel is followed for 12 interviews. In-person interviews are conducted using computer-assisted personal interviewing. A sample of approximately 16,000 people are interviewed in each round. However, because of the rotating panel design, only 12,000 people receive all three interviews in a given calendar year. Information collected in the survey is combined with information from CMS administrative data ﬁles and made available through public-use data ﬁles.

Race and Hispanic origin: The MCBS deﬁnes race as white, black, Asian, Native Hawaiian or Paciﬁc Islander, American Indian or Alaska Native, and other. People are allowed to choose more than one category. There is a separate question on whether the person is of Hispanic or Latino origin. The “other” category in Table 30c on page 121 consists of people who answered “no” to the Hispanic/Latino question and who answered something other than “white” or “black” to the race question. People who answer with more than one racial category are assigned to the “other” category.

National Health Interview Survey

The National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics, is a continuing nationwide sample survey in which data are collected during personal household interviews. NHIS is the principal source of information on the health of the civilian, noninstitutionalized, household population of the United States. Interviewers collect data on illnesses, injuries, impairments, and chronic conditions; activity limitation caused by chronic conditions; utilization of health services; and other health topics. Information is also obtained on personal, social, economic, and demographic characteristics, including race and ethnicity and health insurance status. The survey is reviewed each year, core questionnaire items are revised every 10–15 years (with major revisions occurring in 1982 and 1997), and special topics are added or deleted annually.

In 2006, a new sample design was implemented. This design, which is expected to be in use through 2014, includes all 50 states and the District of Columbia, as the previous design did. Oversampling of the black and Hispanic populations has been retained in 2006 to allow for more precise estimation of health characteristics in these growing minority populations. The new sample design also oversamples the Asian population. In addition, the sample adult selection process has been revised so that when black, Hispanic, or Asian people age 65 and over are present, they have an increased chance of being selected as the sample adult. The new design reduces the size of NHIS by approximately 13 percent relative to the previous sample design. The interviewed sample for 2008 consisted of 28,709 households, which yielded 74,236 people in 29,421 families. More information on the survey methodology and content of NHIS can be found at http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhis.htm

Race and Hispanic origin: Starting with data year 1999, race-speciﬁc estimates in NHIS are tabulated according to 1997 standards for federal data on race and ethnicity and are not strictly comparable with estimates for earlier years. The single race categories for data from 1999 and later conform to 1997 standards and are for people who reported only one racial group. Prior to data year 1999, data were tabulated according to the 1977 standards and included people who reported one race or, if they reported more than one race, identiﬁed one race as best representing their race.

National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey

The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics, is a family of cross-sectional surveys designed to assess the health and nutritional status of the noninstitutionalized civilian population through direct physical examinations and interviews. Each survey’s
sample was selected using a complex, stratiﬁed, multistage, probability sampling design. Interviewers obtain information on personal and demographic characteristics, including age, household income, and race and ethnicity directly from sample persons (or their proxies). In addition, dietary intake data, biochemical tests, physical measurements, and clinical assessments are collected.

The NHANES program includes the following surveys conducted on a periodic basis through 1994: the ﬁrst, second, and third National Health Examination Surveys (NHES I, 1960–1962; NHES II, 1963–1965; and NHES III, 1966–1970); and the ﬁrst, second, and third National Health and Nutritional Examination Surveys (NHANES I, 1971–1974; NHANES II, 1976–1980; and NHANES III, 1988–1994). Beginning in 1999, NHANES changed to a continuous data collection format without breaks in survey cycles. The NHANES program now visits 15 U.S. locations per year, surveying and reporting for approximately 5,000 people annually. The procedures employed in continuous NHANES to select samples, conduct interviews, and perform physical exams have been preserved from previous survey cycles. NHES I, NHANES I, and NHANES II collected information on people 6 months to 74 years of age. NHANES III and later surveys include people age 75 and over.

With the advent of the continuous survey design (NHANES III), NHANES moved from a 6-year data release to a 2-year data release schedule. Estimates for 1999–2000, and later, are based on a smaller sample size than estimates for earlier time periods and, therefore, are subject to greater sampling error.

Race and Hispanic origin: Data from this survey are not shown by race and Hispanic
origin in this report.

National Vital Statistics System

Through the National Vital Statistics System, the National Center for Health Statistics collects and publishes data on births, deaths, and prior to 1996, marriages and divorces occurring in the United States based on U.S. standard certiﬁcates. The Division of Vital Statistics obtains information on births and deaths from the registration ofﬁces of each of the 50 states, New York City, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and Northern Mariana Islands. Geographic coverage for births and deaths has been complete since 1933. Demographic information on the death certiﬁcate is provided by the funeral director based on information supplied by an informant. Medical certiﬁcation of cause of death is provided by a physician, medical examiner, or coroner. The mortality data ﬁle is a fundamental source of cause-of-death information by demographic characteristics and for geographic areas such as states. The mortality ﬁle is one of the few sources of comparable health-related data for smaller geographic areas in the United States and over a long time period. Mortality data can be used not only to present the characteristics of those dying in the United States but also to determine life expectancy and to compare mortality trends with other countries. Data in this report for the entire United States refer to events occurring within the 50 states and the District of Columbia; data for geographic areas are by place of residence.

Race and Hispanic origin: Race and Hispanic origin are reported separately on the death certiﬁcate. Therefore, data by race shown in Tables 14b, 15b, and 15c include people of Hispanic or non-Hispanic origin; data for Hispanic origin include people of any race.

Panel Study of Income Dynamics

The Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) is a nationally representative, longitudinal study conducted by the University of Michigan’s Institute for Social Research. It is a representative sample of U.S. individuals (men, women, and children) and the family units in which they reside. Starting with a national sample of 5,000 U.S. households in 1968, the PSID has reinterviewed individuals from those households annually from 1968 to 1997 and biennially thereafter, whether or not they are living in the same dwelling or with the same people. Adults have been followed as they have grown older, and children have been observed as they advance through childhood and into adulthood, forming family units of their own. Information about the original 1968 sample individuals and their current coresidents (spouses, cohabitors, children, and anyone else living with them) is collected each year. In 1997 and 1999, in order to enhance the representativeness of the study, a refresher sample of 511 post 1968 immigrant families was added to the PSID. With low attrition rates and successful recontacts, the sample size grew to approximately 8,330 as of 2007. PSID data can be used for cross-sectional, longitudinal, and intergenerational analyses and for studying both individuals and families.

The central focus of the data has been economic and demographic, with substantial detail on income sources and amounts, employment, family composition changes, and residential location. Based on ﬁndings in the early years, the PSID expanded to its present focus on family structure and dynamics as well as income, wealth, and expenditures. Wealth and health are other important contributors to individual and family well-being that have been the focus of the PSID in recent years.

The PSID wealth modules measure net equity in homes and nonhousing assets divided into six categories: other real estate and vehicles; farm or business ownership; stocks, mutual funds, investment trusts, and stocks held in IRAs; checking and savings accounts, CDs, treasury bills, savings bonds, and liquid assets in IRAs; bonds, trusts, life insurance, and other assets; and other debts. The PSID measure of wealth excludes private pensions and rights to future Social Security payments.

Race and Hispanic origin: The PSID asks respondents if they are white, black, American Indian, Aleut, Eskimo, Asian, Paciﬁc Islander, or another race. Respondents are allowed to choose more than one category. They are coded according to the ﬁrst category mentioned. Only respondents who classiﬁed themselves as white or black are included in Table 10 on page 87.

Population Projections

The population projections for the United States are interim projections that take into account the results of Census 2000. These interim projections were created using the cohort-component method, which uses assumptions about the components of population change. They are based on Census 2000 results, official postcensus estimates, as well as vital registration data from the National Center for Health Statistics. The assumptions are based on those used in the projections released in 2000 that used a 1998 population estimate base. Some modifications were made to the assumptions so that projected values were consistent with estimates from 2001 as well as Census 2000.

Fertility is assumed to increase slightly from current estimates. The projected total fertility rate in 2025 is 2.180, and it is projected to increase to 2.186 by 2050. Mortality is assumed to continue to improve over time. By 2050, life expectancy at birth is assumed to increase to 81.2 for men and 86.7 for women. Net immigration is assumed to be 996,000 in 2025 and 1,097,000 in 2050.

Race and Hispanic origin: Interim projections based on Census 2000 were also done by race and Hispanic origin. The basic assumptions by race used in the previous projections were adapted to reflect the Census 2000 race definitions and results. Projections were developed for the following groups: (1) non-Hispanic white alone, (2) Hispanic white alone, (3) black alone, (4) Asian alone, and (5) all other groups. The fifth category includes the categories of American Indian and Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian and Other Pacifc Islander, and all people reporting more than one of the major race categories defined by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

For a more detailed discussion of the cohort-component method and the assumptions about the components of population change, see “Methodology and Assumptions for the Population Projections of the United States: 1999 to 2100.”55 While this paper does not incorporate the updated assumptions made for the interim projections, it provides a more extensive treatment of the earlier projections, released in 2000, on which the interim series is based.

Survey of the Aged, 1963

The major purpose of the 1963 Survey of the Aged was to measure the economic and social situations of a representative sample of all people age 62 and over in the United States in 1963 in order to serve the detailed information needs of the Social Security Administration (SSA). The survey included a wide range of questions on health insurance, medical care costs, income, assets and liabilities, labor force participation and work experience, housing and food expenses, and living arrangements.

The sample consisted of a representative subsample (one-half) of the Current Population Survey (CPS) sample and the full Quarterly Household Survey. Income was measured using answers to 17 questions about speciﬁc sources. Results from this survey have been combined with CPS results from 1971 to the present in an income time series produced by SSA.

Race and Hispanic origin: Data from this survey are not shown by race and Hispanic
origin in this report.

Survey of Demographic and Economic Characteristics of the Aged, 1968

The 1968 survey of Demographic and Economic Characteristics of the Aged was conducted by the Social Security Administration (SSA) to provide continuing information on the socioeconomic status of the older population for program evaluation. Major issues addressed by the study include the adequacy of Old-Age, Survivors, Disability, and Health Insurance beneﬁt levels, the impact of certain Social Security provisions on the incomes of the older population, and the extent to which other sources of income are received by older Americans.

Data for the 1968 survey were obtained as a supplement to the Current Medicare Survey,
which yields current estimates of health care services used and charges incurred by people covered by the hospital insurance and supplemental medical insurance programs. Supplemental questions covered work experience, household relationships, income, and assets. Income was measured using answers to 17 questions about speciﬁc sources. Results from this survey have been combined with results from the Current Population Survey from 1971 to the present in an income time series produced by SSA.

Race and Hispanic origin: Data from this survey are not shown by race and Hispanic
origin in this report.

Survey of Veteran Enrollees’ Health and Reliance Upon VA, 2005

The 2008 Survey of Veteran Enrollees’ Health and Reliance Upon VA is the seventh in a series of surveys of veteran enrollees for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) health care conducted by the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), within the VA, under multiyear Office of Management and Budget authority. Previous surveys of VHA-enrolled veterans were conducted in 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2005, and 2007. All seven VHA surveys of enrollees consisted of telephone interviews with stratified random samples of enrolled veterans. From 2000 on, the survey instrument was modified to reflect VA management’s need for specific data and information on enrolled veterans.

As with the other surveys in the series, the 2008 Survey of Veteran Enrollees’ Health and Reliance Upon VA sample was stratified by Veterans Integrated Service Network, enrollment priority, and type of enrollee (new or past user). Telephone interviews averaged 17 minutes in length. In the 2008 survey, interviews were conducted beginning on September 25, 2008, over a course of 11 weeks. Of approximately 7.3 million eligible enrollees who had not declined enrollment as of April 30, 2008, some 42,000 completed interviews in the 2008 telephone survey.

VHA enrollee surveys provide a fundamental source of data and information on enrollees that cannot be obtained in any other way except through surveys and yet are basic to many VHA activities. The primary purpose of the VHA enrollee surveys is to provide critical inputs into VHA Health Care Services Demand Model enrollment, patient, and expenditure projections, and the Secretary’s enrollment level decision processes; however, data from the enrollee surveys find their way into a variety of strategic analysis areas related to budget, policy, or legislation.

Race and Hispanic origin: Data from this survey are not shown by race and Hispanic
origin in this report.

Veteran Population Estimates and Projections (model name is VetPop2007 (December 2007)

VetPop2007 provides estimates and projections of the veteran population by age groups and other demographic characteristics at the county and state levels. Veteran estimates and projections were computed using a cohort-component approach, whereby Census 2000 baseline data were adjusted forward in time on the basis of separations from the Armed Forces (new veterans) and expected mortality.

Race and Hispanic origin: Data from this model are not shown by race and Hispanic
origin in this report.